Mike Tharp: Where does food come from?

HILMAR -- Chocolate milk doesn't come from brown cows.

That's one of the many misconceptions a new exhibit at the Hilmar Cheese Co.'s Visitor Center hopes to correct among consumers.

At the ribbon-cutting Thursday -- the ribbon stretched appropriately between two green milk cans -- Hilmar execs, the state secretary of agriculture and others made one point clear:

People need to be educated about where their food comes from and how it gets from field and farm and ranch to their tables.

"Our owners are really passionate about agriculture and dairy and the role they play in the community," John Jeter, Hilmar Cheese president and CEO, said before the ceremony. "People in urban areas think food comes from the grocery store."

It does, of course, but its journey began long before it landed there. Most Mercedians know that, since ag is the main driving force behind our county's economic engine.

And Hilmar Cheese stands out -- not just in the county and state, but worldwide -- as one of the most innovative ag companies around. Founded in 1984, Hilmar Cheese is a privately held corporation owned by 11 dairy families. Several helped cut the ribbon.

The Hilmar headquarters is the world's largest single-site cheese and whey manufacturing facility. The company also makes cheese and whey products in Texas. And it ships specialty products, such as whey proteins and high-purity lactose, around the globe.

Jeter said Asia, North Africa, South America and the Middle East have been robust customers for its products in recent years.

Nine containers a day, for instance, leave Hilmar bound for the Port of Oakland and points beyond.

Unlike a lot of big outfits, Hilmar Cheese combines commercial success with a social conscience. The Visitor Center, started in 1998, shows that the company cares about more than the bottom line. Some 15,000 students visit each year.

In that sense, Hilmar Cheese parallels the business philosophy of one of the 20th century's most important entrepreneurs, Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., known for its Panasonic and National brand names. He started what was to become one of the most productive corporations in history in an Osaka tenement house.

Today, Matsushita Electric dominates international markets, but his successors still follow his creed, according to the Panasonic website: "Our business is something entrusted to us by society. Therefore, we are duty-bound to manage and develop the company in an upstanding manner, contributing to the development of society and the improvement of people's lives."

Doing well by doing good.

So it was fitting that California's secretary of agriculture, A.G. Nakamura, a third-generation Japanese American from Orange County, also attended the unveiling of the new Visitor Center exhibit. Whether karma, kismet or coincidence, Nakamura's family on his father's side hails from Wakayama Prefecture, birthplace of Konosuke Matsushita. His family still grows celery, green beans and strawberries near Irvine.

"Hilmar Cheese is one of the best examples of a family farm that came together with innovative, creative ideas," Nakamura said. "The world is getting more complex, not simpler. The challenge for a successful food supplier becomes a focal point for the agricultural community."

He noted that "to get to 2050 with 9.4 billion people on the planet -- two more new Chinas -- agriculture can't afford to get it wrong. We have to get it right. Following the lead of companies like Hilmar Cheese gives us a lot of hope."

Denise Skidmore, whose dynamic energy is matched only by her modesty, was the catalyst behind the new exhibit.

Working with Dairy Management Inc., a firm that tries to fill the information gap between the public and dairy farmers, Skidmore and others came up with the new 50-foot-long "multisensory interactive" exhibit.

After the speeches, certificate presentations and other formalities, a couple dozen kids began testing the new toys. Some started dressing like farmers, veterinarians and cheesemakers. Some touched a screen to mimic what it's like to milk a cow. Some sat on a "cow comfort" bench, whose cushions are made from the same bedding used for cattle.

Supervisor Deidre Kelsey remembered that "a long time ago," she was in the yard of Mary and Vern Wickstrom's home. She and her girlfriends heard that the Wickstroms were banding together with some other families to make cheese.

"Well, we hope that works out," she recalled the girls thinking.

Seems it did.

Executive Editor Mike Tharp can be reached at (209) 385-2456 or mtharp@mercedsun-star.com.